Please Note: The deadline for entries to arrive is September 28, 2018. Mail your package
in plenty of time for snail delivery, Peachtree City is considered rural Georgia and
mail takes a few extra days!

The American Print Alliance in conjunction with the Art Department of Kennesaw State
University is asking artists to create prints in a major tradition of our art – commentary
on politics and the impact of printmaking on actual events.

Note that the title for this Soap Box portfolio is comprised of three words. “The”
is the definite article, emphasizing that democracy can survive only with freedom
of speech and a free press. The “little d” of “democratic” indicates that we are advocating
for this specific form of rule: a democracy with three independent branches of government,
in opposition to a dictatorship or oligarchy or anarchy. “PRESS” of course refers
to the physical equipment used in so many techniques of printmaking as well as the
right to express one’s political opinion, one’s hopes and dreams, disappointments
and calls for action to remedy wrongs – in a way that reproduces and disseminates
that speech in multiple copies to be seen by a wide audience. In addition, the pressure
of “press” reiterates our resolve and the critical need for immediate and substantive
action.

The news reports widely contrasting views of our current political state. Artists
have an obligation to question current events and respond to them. Transgressive work
is relevant to protect one of the most important rights that supports democracy: freedom
of the press. As artists we are called to action through our artwork. Let us embrace
the traditions of printmakers and poster artists and use our graphic imagery to share
our individual opinions of current events, politics, elections and change. Our messages
will certainly differ, but through our prints we can stand united to voice our certainty
that the freedom to express those views is essential to our democracy! This is your
opportunity to submit art relating to the political themes about which you feel most
passionate, and have your work widely seen. Get on your Soapbox!!

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the American Print Alliance may not campaign
for or against candidates for elected office, and we will not accept any work that
incites people to break the law (except the proud tradition of non-violent civil disobedience).
Although the appropriation of imagery is a frequent component of contemporary printmaking,
please be sure that the work you submit does not violate any copyright.

All prints that meet the submission criteria will be shown whenever possible (there
should be hundreds of prints!). After the initial exhibit opening November 6, 2018
(Election Day) at Kennesaw State University and at this year’s Print Dialogue Day
planned by the Atlanta Printmakers Studio, selections will be sent to subsequent exhibition
venues depending on their space available. For example, a school with only one 12
foot long wall for displays could show a 4 row x 10 column array of 40 prints. A city
hall might ring the lobby with a double row and show a hundred.

Where there is not enough space to show all work, prints will be selected based on
the image’s ability to engage the viewer, encouragement of multiple viewpoints, originality
of concept, and quality of the work. No attempt will be made to balance artists from
different parts of the country, various techniques, or liberal or conservative ideas.
Works will be chosen to create an exhibition that is visually exciting, thought provoking
and even confrontational. The exhibit itself will demonstrate that prints can be an
influential part of the democratic process.

Entry specifics:

The majority of the work must be printmaking; collage, photography, hand coloring
and other additions are permitted, but must not interfere with the artwork’s essential
character as a two-dimensional, easy-to-disseminate print. Submissions must be original
prints, reproductions will not be accepted. The Alliance accepts traditional and non-traditional
printmaking, including computer-manipulated and -printed (inkjet or laser) images
that are original prints and not reproductions of artwork in other media. Prints may
include text that complements the imagery, not text that carries a disproportionate
emotional charge.

Each artist may submit one print individually and one made as part of a collaboration.
You must be 18 to vote and to submit to Soap Box 3.

All work must be on printed on paper or cloth. Work must fit into and be presented
in a mylar or archival polyester envelope, minimum size 8 x 10”, maximum size 11 x
17”, works larger than 11 x 11” must be vertical format (i.e. nothing wider than 11”).
Do NOT seal the plastic envelope. Fill in a separate PDF submission form for each
entry, print two copies on acid free paper, sign both copies and enclose them in the
package with your print(s). Download the Submission Form & Instructions here.

Prints must have been created since the election of November 8, 2016. Prints created
on commission, “for hire” or for a protest movement (e.g. #MeToo, the Women’s March,
Black Lives Matter) are eligible only if the artist has not transferred copyright
or assigned exclusive reproduction rights.

The deadline for entries to arrive is September 28, 2018. Mail your package in plenty
of time for snail delivery, Peachtree City is considered rural Georgia and mail takes
a few extra days!

Please enclose a $5 donation per print to help cover the costs of display and shipping,
including the wire system, clips, title banner and wall texts, crates, etc. Artists
from foreign countries are not expected to send a donation but are encouraged to enter
their work.

Artists are asked to donate their entries so that this Soap Box portfolio can travel
as an exhibition as long as needed and then become part of the Alliance archives.
Artists retain their copyright.

Dr. Carol Pulin, founding director of the American Print Alliance; Valerie Dibble,
coordinator of printmaking at Kennesaw State University; Jamaal Barber and Chris Neuenschwander
will select up to 15 prints for special recognition and $100 prizes. These prints
will be posted online before the election to show the most compelling presentations
of calls to activism (voting, assembling, demonstrating, taking part in political
life, serving in office) combined with the essence of printmaking’s accessibility,
graphic background and creativity. Additional prints will be posted when we can do
so; eventually we hope to post the entire portfolio.

We are interested in venues for this exhibit to travel so if you have a space, please
send an email to Val Dibble at vdibble@kennesaw.edu. There is no exhibition fee, the only cost will be return shipping (generally less
than $50), which may be underwritten by grants. Spaces where it would be seen by the
general public, including people who might not otherwise go to a gallery or museum
to see a printmaking exhibition, are especially sought, e.g. your gym, church, city
hall, library.